Category Archives: Michael Cuddyer

DENVER — The second half of the season didn’t get off exactly the way the Phillies were hoping.

A dismal offensive showing mixed in with a flustered Cliff Lee led to a 6-2 loss to the Rockies on Friday. The Rockies offense poured it on in the late innings, putting this game away early.

With the score tied 1-1, it all came crashing down on a frustrated Lee in the 6th inning. Lee allowed five batters to reach base with two outs, including an RBI on a sacrifice fly by Jason Rutledge and an RBI single by Eric Young to make it 3-1.

After Lee’s day ended, Michael Schwimer got hit around in the 7th inning. An RBI single by Ramon Hernandez and an RBI triple by Michael Cuddyer gave Colorado a 5-1 lead. Cuddyer then came home on an over-throw by Carlos Ruiz on a pick-off attempt to make it 6-1.

PHIADELPHIA — Twice Rafael Batencourt produced two ground balls but twice his infield failed to get the batters out on them.

Back-to-back infield hits, the second being on a catching error by Todd Helton, resulted in the Phillies 7-6 walk-off win in the 9th inning.

The game was nearly lost in the 9th with Jonathan Papelbon on the hill. He gave up a two-out RBI single to Dexter Fowler that gave the Rockies a 6-5 lead in the 9th inning.

But the Phillies rallied with two outs in the bottom half.

Ty Wigginton singled with two outs to set up Hunter Pence’s RBI double off the wall in the corner of left field. Wigginton was running on the pitch and scored from first to tie the game, 6-6.

With runners on first and second and two outs, Shane Victorino legged out a ground ball up the middle, beating Marco Scutaro’s throw. The next batter, Placido Polanco, hit the ball in the same spot, but this time Helton couldn’t find the bag and Polly was safe, scoring Pence from third.

Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com just tweeted that the Colorado Rockies announced they traded Ty Wigginton to Phillies for a player to be named later or cash.

This is an incredible move for the Phillies, who had their sights set on Michael Cuddyer. Wigginton is a very similar player and would come at a much cheaper price than Cuddyer.

Wigginton plays the corner infield and outfield position, giving the Phils a replacement for Ryan Howard at first as well as someone who can play third base and left field to spell Placido Polanco, Chase Utley and become a replacement for Raul Ibanez.

Kevin Kee of “The Philly Phans” has a source within the organization that the Phillies have offered contracts to both Jimmy Rollins and Cole Hamels.

Kee confirmed his source with TTB directly. All information below is from Kee and his source. More is known, but won’t be released until they are backed up or confirmed.

The Phillies offered Rollins a five-year contract, a deal that he wants, and it looks like he could be back in Philadelphia. It is also believed that Rollins will accept a small hometown discount. (Kee corrected our post: No team will offer Rollins a five-year deal and it’s expected the Phils will be able to get him at a discount and for less years.)

The Phillies also offered an extension to Hamels for a long term contract. A deal should be done before the season starts. Numbers for the deal will be withheld for now but the length should suffice for both sides of the deal.

According to MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki, free agent Michael Cuddyer was in Philadelphia today to meet with Phillies officials

Cuddyer has left town so no deal is imminent. As Zolecki says, it just means that the Phillies are interested.

Cuddyer would fill a wide range of needs. He plays both corner infield and outfield positions. He could potentially split time with Jim Thome and John Mayberry Jr. while Ryan Howard is out with a torn Achilles.

The Phils are making themselves extremely active at the start of free agency.

Instead of making big splashes like teams such as New York, Chicago, Boston and Texas will be looking to make, the Phils are looking to make what they already have stronger.

The first two moves were for depth: utility infielder Pete Orr and first baseman Jim Thome. Now, one of Thome’s former teammates is on general manager Ruben Amaro’s list.

Michael Cuddyer could be an incredibly valuable asset to the Phillies. The Phils are reportedly pursuing Cuddyer to play some first base in the absence of Ryan Howard as well as left field.

Cuddyer’s versatility alone makes him valuable but he also brings a big bat that could give the Phils offense a boost.

Cuddyer spent his entire 11-year career with the Twins where he hit .272 while hitting 141 homers. Cuddyer is a guy who can average 20 homers and 82 RBIs a season, and that production is for the Phils offense that lacked fire power.

As mentioned, Cuddyer can be inserted anywhere defensively, which will allow certain players a break. Cuddyer is a corner outfielder as well as being able to play first and third base. This is essential for the Phils, who will be starting the 2012 season without Ryan Howard, who ruptured his Achilles in Game 5 of the NLDS.

After Cuddyer, the Phils will need to address some of their own players, which include free agent reliever Ryan Madson and short stop Jimmy Rollins as well as avoiding arbitration and giving Cole Hamels the long-term deal he deserves.

Yankees – They’re the 2009 World Series champions and still kept intact the solid nucleus that got them there. They traded top prospects to land centerfielder Curtis Granderson, a much better defensive asset than Johnny Damon. They also traded Melky Cabrera to the Braves for Javier Vazquez to bolster the starting rotation. With guys like C.C. Sabathia, A.J. Brunett, and Andy Pettitte, the Yankees boast a very good pitching unit. Mariano Rivera is still the best closer in the game and the aging offense led by Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, and Mark Teixeira can still put a ton of runs up on the score board. If things go right, they could have another parade down Broadway.

Red Sox – The pitching is truly phenomenal. Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, John Lackey, and Daisuke Matsuzaka form the best top-four in baseball. The offense is led by top young stars Jacoby Ellsbury and Dustin Pedroia. Marco Scutaro is hoping to end the revolving door at the short stop position and Adrian Beltre is an offensive upgrade at third. Offensive depth is the only thing that should concern the Sox but they have the pitching to get the job done. David Ortiz is a shell of his old self but it still the DH.

Twins – It’s safe to say that Joe Mauer is the scariest hitter in the AL. The reigning MVP is one of the reasons Minnesota is buzzing prior to the 2010 season. Along with a new outdoor park and a very dangerous lineup featuring Mauer, Justin Morneau, Jason Kubel, and Michael Cuddyer, the fans and Twins have high expectations for this year. The only problem with them this year though is pitching. If their starters can have decent years, they could beat out Detroit for the division.

Mariners – Seattle is truly going to be a serious contender in the AL. The addition of Cliff Lee, Chone Figgins, and Milton Bradley will revamp a pitching staff and offense in need of fire power. Lee became a hot pitcher again after his last season transformation with the Phillies and will look to create a formidable 1-2 punch with Felix Hernandez. Figgins will add speed and Bradley will look to add power to a Mariners lineup that hit 160 homer (12th in the AL) last season.

Angels – Surely they make their case for a serious playoff contender every year but there has to be a breaking point. They improved an already solid lineup with Hideki Matsui and bolstered their bull pen with Fernando Rodney but the team still doesn’t jump out at anyone. The core of the offense is aging in Bobby Abreu, Torii Hunter, and Matsui and they lost Figgins to the division rival Mariners. Jared Weaver, Joe Saunders, and newly acquired Joel Pineiro will need to have season like 2009 to give the Mariners a fighting chance in an AL crowded with contenders.